How Do You Make a Tomato Sandwich Not Soggy?

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When it comes to sandwiches, the bread is going to always have a chance of soaking in moisture from any number of sources, from the perspiration from the drinking glass to the squished tomato on the BLT. 

So how does one keep their sandwich from becoming a soggy mess but also allow for moisture-filled veggies and other ingredients? Consider creating barriers between the bread and wet ingredients. 

Let us find a common ground recipe when it comes to what defines a tomato sandwich. This example will include two slices of bread (or a freshly baked baguette), some slices of tomato, a slice of cheese, and a leaf of lettuce. 

Why Does it Happen?

The thing about bread is that it is a very absorbent food. The baking process of the expanding flour and pockets of yeast gas bubbles provides a sponge-like nature. 

So when you prepare a sandwich, say to be eaten at lunchtime, be sure to place a barrier ingredient like lettuce to prevent the moisture from the tomato from seeping into the bread.

Otherwise, what happens is the natural gushy inside of the tomato will be absorbed by the bread slices and, therefore, will make the sandwich a big soggy mess, and most likely not that very appetizing. 

Remember, put a few leaves of lettuce on either side to prevent this from happening. 

 

What Do You Need to Know Before You Start?

The first thing you need to know before you start making a sandwich is what ingredients are going to be put into this creation. 

Another thing to know would be to consider the type of bread to use. Open slices of bread will require the as before mentioned barrier ingredients, such as a leaf of iceberg lettuce.

If you are using a roll or bun with a glazing or buttery coating, consider toasting the bread to ensure less of a chance for the bread to absorb too much of the tomato’s moisture. Eating it right away is the best process to guarantee your sandwich will not get soggy. 

 

Is Your Sandwich Soggy Because of Too Many Tomatoes?

The issue will not always be the number of tomatoes in which you use but the placement within the ingredients stack of the sandwich itself. The sogginess does not necessarily always come from the tomatoes. 

Consider this if you are making a sandwich for later; pack the tomatoes in a separate Ziploc to be added later upon eating. 

This will be the most effective way of preventing a soggy tomato sandwich from running a picnic, workday lunch retreat, or otherwise. 

 

How to Make Sure it Won’t Go Soggy?

As mentioned in the passage above, there are a few ways outside of eating the sandwich right away, using lettuce to prevent a sandwich from going soggy. 

However, the most surefire way will be to pack the tomatoes separately. The bread cannot absorb moisture when it is not present in the Ziploc it is being kept in. 

The next idea, which you can play around with, would be to bring fresh ingredients to lunch and prepare the sandwich fresh at the time of lunch or on the picnic; it could be a new spin on the old routine. 

Not to mention, it reduces the risk of soggy sandwiches to nearly zero; beware of the juicy tomato!

 

Common Mistakes You Need to Avoid

 

• The most commonly made mistake – Having the tomato slice butted up directly with the bread slice, which, as you know, will initiate the soggy bread process at the moment of impact. 

 

• Sitting on your sandwich – sounds funny until you are hungry and find a flat, soggy sandwich under your person.

 

• Beware of the juicy tomato – there are meaty tomatoes, then there are juicy tomatoes; meaty ones are the best for sandwiches (especially BLTs), and juicy ones are best for stews, pasta dishes, and soups. 

 

• Letting other ingredients soil your bread – not surprisingly, there are other moist ingredients that could end up resulting in a soggy mess. 

 

Final Thoughts on How do You Make a Tomato Sandwich not Soggy

In effect, the soggy sandwich becomes poetic, for it once was created with excitement at the prospect of being consumed with joy. Then after getting through that tough first part of the workday or hike, you find the bread has just one soggy soup inside a Ziploc bag. 

Tears, trumpets, bagpipes, and a precession might result in the tomato-soggy mess finding the bottom of the trash bin. 

But, all joking aside, the simplest way to prevent soggy bread is to keep the ingredients in separate storage containers until the right time to assemble your tomato sandwich and eat it too. 

 

 

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